RestaurantsNottinghamshireWhattonNG13

Harden's says

In a converted barn on a farm near Plungar, 30 minutes’ drive from Nottingham, self-taught chef Rich and his wife Grace serve a 20-course tasting menu. In her November 2024 review, Charlotte Ivers of the Sunday Times was enthralled by the ‘magic’ of the kitchen.

survey result

Summary

£160
£££££
4
Very Good
5
Exceptional
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Chef Richard Stevens grew up on the farm housing this cosily lit barn – complete with corrugated iron roof – which since September 2022 has become an ambitious venue for sampling his 20-course tasting-menu for £120 per person, with service from his wife Grace. Our reporters all rate it highly – “a proper hidden gem with a stunning location and setting with brilliant food and team”, although it skipped our highest rating due to the odd quibble (“I understand everything is local but just felt the prices were high in relation to the portions”). Certainly the Sunday Times’s Charlotte Ivers is a fan – in her November 2024 review she declared herself “in love – utterly enthralled” with a “magic” meal “you’ll remember forever”.

For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).

Have you eaten at Jericho?

Orchard Farm, 45 Barkestone Lane, Whatton, NG13 0JA

What the Newspaper Critics are saying

The Times

Charlotte Ivers confessed that she was “in love… utterly enthralled” by the “peculiar slice of English magic” she found in a cosily lit barn – “part Scandi sauna, part Scottish hunting lodge” – outside the village of Plungar, half an hour’s drive from Nottingham, where a small team led by founders Rich and his wife Grace serve a 20-course tasting meal that “you’ll remember forever”. 

“There’s a remarkable combination of dishes that display the fiddly, technically challenging stuff that wins awards, and others that are just fresh ingredients cooked simply on the grill. No pretension, dots of pointless sauce or style over substance. Rich tells me he has no formal training. Again, magic.”

At £105 plus £70 for the flight of natural wine, dining here is not cheap – but “you’re paying to experience something remarkable, something that seems to have sprung up from nowhere but is the product of years of graft and expertise”. 

Charlotte Ivers - 2024-11-17

Prices

  Cost Availability Courses
Menu1 120.00 Dinner only 20

Traditional European menu

Veggies Pudding
£0.00 £0.00
Drinks  
Wine per bottle £0.00
Filter Coffee £0.00
Extras  
Bread £0.00
Service 12.50%
Orchard Farm, 45 Barkestone Lane, Whatton, NG13 0JA
Opening hours
MondayCLOSED
TuesdayCLOSED
Wednesday7 am‑11 pm
Thursday7 am‑11 pm
Friday7 am‑11 pm
Saturday7 am‑11 pm
SundayCLOSED

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